Cawston man serves jail time for alcohol-induced assaults, threats

A Cawston man was sentenced to 47 days in jail and 15 months probation after a series of alcohol induced assaults and breaches earlier this year.

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November 26, 2015 - 2:23 PM

PENTICTON - A Cawston man was handed a court order to stop drinking and given time served as part of a sentence handed down in Penticton court today, Nov. 26.

Gabriel Julian Labrosse was sentenced to 47 days time served by Judge Gale Sinclair on multiple charges including assault, assault with a weapon and uttering threats following a series of drunken incidents.

Crown Prosecutor Catherine Crockett told court Labrosse was arrested on June 26, 2015 after assaulting his girlfriend. He was released on conditions. Then on Aug. 27 he was again arrested after threatening to shoot a woman, although he was not carrying a weapon at the time. On Sept. 23, Labrosse was again cited for breach of conditions after being implicated in an altercation with other men in front of the Cawston Country Market. Police found him at his residence consuming alcohol. On Oct. 26, police were called to the residence of a woman who came home to discover Labrosse in her house. He was found outside the house when police arrived, and later charged with assault with a knife and breach of conditions.

Crockett noted Labrosse had spent 31 days in jail since the last incident, suggesting a 47-day sentence, which would be equivalent to time served with credit. She noted Labrosse’s relatively clean criminal record.

Defence lawyer Robert Maxwell admitted his client was an alcoholic, and said Labrosse, a two-year resident of the Keremeos-Cawston area, "understands what all this means and what happens when he drinks.”

“If you’re caught drinking, you’re going to go to jail,” he told his client, who appeared in court by video.

Judge Sinclair agreed to the sentence, in addition to 15 months' probation, with several conditions including a long list of victims to stay away from. Labrosse is prohibited from drinking, entering places where alcohol is sold, and from possessing firearms.

“Number one, you need to work on your relationships with the female gender, and number two, you have a serious alcohol problem that’s now on court order,” Sinclair said, adding, “Some people can’t drink and it sounds like you’re one of them.”

To contact the reporter for this story, email Steve Arstad at sarstad@infonews.ca or call 250-488-3065. To contact the editor, email mjones@infonews.ca or call 250-718-2724.

OPINION Editor, This is a busy time of year, but I find it’s also a time of reflection, particularly as January marks the end of my two-year term as Chair and my 10 years serving on the Board of Interior